Farmoor reservoir in Oxfordshire is a great trout fishery, it’s run by Thames water – they do an excellent job of keeping rods bent right through the year with quality rainbow and occasional brown trout. The fishery is made up of two concrete bowl water supply reservoirs separated by a causeway. Although this doesn’t sound very pretty, the concrete has weathered and the reservoirs fit comfortably into the surrounding landscape.
My recent visit was on a Sunday and we decided to fish from a boat on Farmoor 2 allowing my boat partner Phil D and I to cover lots of water and keep away from the busier sections of bank. As we headed away from the jetty it was obvious that buzzers would be the order of the day. Lots were hatching although this was not a day for a lot of surface activity. We both tackled up with 10’ 7 weight Sage fly rods – I had a new One model and Phil used his trusty XP. These were matched with floating fly lines. I opted for a 7weight Guideline 4-Cast, this line loads the Sage One to perfection. I like to fish buzzers on a long leader so I tied 7lb fluorocarbon to the end of a 9’ tapered leader tied a water knot to make a dropper to give me a 20’ leader with a dropper and a point fly.
Clik here to view.
There was quite a cold wind on the day so it was quite fresh in spite of the bright sunshine. This definitely kept the fish down and most of the fish came to the point fly. Choice of fly was important – star fly was the Fulling Mill black/red buzzer nugget – it caught around 80% of the 25 or so rainbows we caught and released steadily through the day.
Clik here to view.
So all in all a top day out – I really love fishing with my 10’ 7weight Sage ONE, it’s so light and responsive. This is definitely my favourite rod for reservoir trout fishing. I quite fancy a 10’ 5 or 6 weight for fishing dries – better start saving!
Allan’s reservoir tackle favourites:
- Sage ONE Fly Rod – prices from £655
- Guideline 4 Cast Floating Fly Line – price £44.99
- Einarsson Plus Fly Reel – price from £355
- Sportfish Purecast Fluorocarbon – price £6.99
- Buzzer Nugget Fly – price £1.50
- Costa Del Mar Blackfin Sunglasses – prices from £189
- Wychwood Competition Drogue – price £34.99
If you enjoyed Allan’s fishing diary or have been to Farmoor… please leave your comments below – it’s great to share & chat! You can also share with all your friends via our social sharing buttons below.
